I met Paulino at the nursery farm where I worked summers during college, shearing Christmas trees. This was about 1990 or so. He was about five foot six and 140 pounds soaking wet. In his late twenties, he was in the US illegally, but he drove a truck hed bought with cash and rented a pretty nice house not far from the nursery. He paid for the house, the truck, and the beer hed stash in the water cooler for after work with money he made from the nursery.

Paulino could work rings around most of the white college boy summer help, and thats how he got his foot in the door. Not content with a single working mans wage, he lined up a half-dozen other illegals to work for him, and provided an entire work crew to the nursery on a contract basis. The nursery didnt have to worry about who was documented, Paulino paid cash, and everybody was happy. All seven of them could work rings around the rest of us, even when they were only coasting.

The six men on the shearing crew were Mexicans, but Paulino was from El Salvador. He was in the US because he was AWOL from the Salvadoran army, who had forcibly conscripted him just out of his teens. One day he saw his chance and took off running for the jungle. Guards took potshots at him as he fled and Paulino was hit, but he made it to the woods and kept running. It wasnt safe for him in El Salvador any more, so he stayed on the move until he made it to the US. His wounds healed up, but he still had the scars, the only bullet scars Ive ever personally seen.

Now, Ive been around guns all my life. My father and grandfathers had them, all my uncles were hunters, and most of my male cousins on both sides of the family owned, handled, and fired guns on a regular basis. All of them knew how to handle guns safely. All of them knew how to avoid a negligent discharge, and all of them knew how to handle the gun so that if it did go off no serious harm was done. If the mere fact of having guns around were a real risk factor for injury or death, my family history should show multiple gunshot wounds and at least one fatality within the latest three generations.

Yet the only person I ever knew who had bullet scars was Paulino... shot by his own government.

That was common practice in Central America. My Honduran brother-in-law's nephew was in medical school when the military came into the theater he was in and attempted to round up all the youths and force them into the military. Fortunately for Mario, he ran out the back door of the theater and escaped........

It was also common practice for military trucks to patrol the streets and apprehend the older youths and place them in the military.

Unlike your DADDY, Central America had no such draft laws........

.Once they grab you off the street you have no choice but to serve.

7
posted on 01/31/2013 3:25:43 PM PST
by Hot Tabasco
(Jab her with a harpoon or just throw her from the train......)

Another who was breaking the law every day. Soon I think I will start breaking the law. My defense will be that breaking the law is totally acceptable in these United States — and tell about Paulino and 12 million, possibly more, who have been breaking the law every day for years and years. I am positive I wouldn’t be found guilty.

8
posted on 01/31/2013 3:28:32 PM PST
by winkadink
(During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. George Orwell)

You seem to be missing the point. It's not about whether Paulino is hero or villain. He is what he is, whatever he is. I don't ask you to like him or approve of him.

The point of the story is that despite my lifetime of exposure to guns, this Salvadoreño is the only person I've ever met who has been shot. Kind of gives the lie to the whole "guns are evil" meme, doesn't it?

What he was, was also a deserter and a person who violates American Laws.

Somebody who deserts from a tyrannical army isn't doing anything wrong. Do you have a problem with Taliban deserters?

And God forbid we ever face such a situation in this nation, but if some future government becomes tyrannical all those Oath Keepers will be both "deserters and violating American Laws."

That said, while Paulino's story does highlight some of the issues that arise when the government fails to do its job establishing and enforcing reasonable immigration laws, it also is a reminder that there are plenty of oppressive governments in the world, and our nation, and our freedom is a beacon of hope for people yearning to be free.

I never did find myself outside the U.S. I did vote for Ronald Reagan twice.

Interestingly, my Sister used to go down to El Salvador at least once a month. She was just a secretary for the U.S. Army and I have no idea what she was doing down there but the Army wasn’t letting her take a weeks leave or maybe two every few weeks unless they had been authorized to do so. Her husband was an agent for one of the U.S. Law Enforcement Agencies.

My family has been in Florida since at least the 1700s and I like a lot of Cubans, but they came here legally.

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